By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

A 46-year-old Maylene man was arrested by the Helena Police Department June 8 after police say he was involved in a hit-and-run accident in Pelham and then fled police.

Police arrested Mark Randall Johnson at 11:53 p.m. and charged him with attempting to elude police and leaving the scene of an accident.

The arrest came after authorities said Johnson fled the scene of an earlier accident in Pelham. After Pelham police released a description of Johnson’s car, two Helena police officers spotted the suspect on Shelby County 95.

“Two of our officers were conducting a traffic stop on 95, and the suspect went speeding by them,” said Helena Police Department Deputy Chief Tim Carter.

After the Helena officers began to pursue the suspect, Johnson crashed his vehicle near the intersection of Shelby County 95 and Industrial Road in Alabaster, Carter said.

After he crashed his vehicle, Johnson led police on a brief foot chase into the woods before he was apprehended and arrested, Carter said.

The Alabaster Police Department assisted Helena officers in the case.